Mahakal se thali manga liya: Temple priests condemn new Zomato ad featuring Hrithik Roshan, call it 'offensive'

File photo

UJJAIN: Two priests of the famous Mahakal temple of Ujjain on Saturday (August 21) demanded that online food delivery firm Zomato withdraw an advertisement featuring Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan as it offends Hindu sentiments.

In the ad, Roshan says he felt like having a 'thali' (food platter) in Ujjain so he ordered from 'Mahakal'. The Mahakaleshwar or Mahakal temple of Shiva in Ujjain is one of twelve 'Jyotirlingas' which attracts devotees from across the country. Priests of the temple Mahesh and Ashish said Zomato should withdraw the advertisement immediately and tender an apology. 

Devotees are served 'prasad' on a thali and the ad hurts the feelings of Hindus, they claimed. They also approached Ujjain district collector Ashish Singh who is the chairman of the Mahakal temple trust and sought action against the company so that no one mocks the Hindu religion again, the priests said. 

Speaking to reporters, Singh termed the ad as 'misleading', saying that the temple offers free meals as 'prasad' and it is not sold.

Soon after the ad surfaced on social media, netizens started trolling Hrithik Roshan as well as the food-delivery company for deliberately hurting sentiments of Hindus. 

Check out some of the reactions on the new Zomato ad on social media:

Zomato and Hritik Roshan testing the patience of Hindus !

Just because Hindus don't issue #SarTanSeJuda call does not mean one can hurt the feeling of Hindus time and again !

Hindus demand apology from Zomato !#Zomato_Insults_Mahakal #Boycott_Zomatopic.twitter.com/iYFZiQzSS4

— Guruprasad Gowda (@Gp_hjs) August 21, 2022

#Zomato_Insults_Mahakal
In an ad @iHrithik says "Thali khane ka man tha, Mahakal se mangaa liya"@zomato shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that Mahakal's Prasad served in temples with devotion to devotees is the same as the food they serve when it's ordered! #Boycott_Zomato pic.twitter.com/YyEPDa8i69

— HinduJagrutiOrg (@HinduJagrutiOrg) August 21, 2022

Hindu saints of the Mahakaleshwar temple have condemned the ad by @Zomato featuring Bollywood superstar Hritik Roshan with tagline saying 'Thaali khane ka man tha, Mahakaal se mangaa liya'

Hindus unite and demand apology from Zomato !#Zomato_Insults_Mahakal #Boycott_Zomato pic.twitter.com/JPVWBqtaKY

— Sanatan Prabhat (Kannada) (@Sanatan_Prabhat) August 21, 2022

#Zomato_Insults_Mahakal #Boycott_Zomato
On Saturday, a controversy erupted around a new ad by the online food delivery company Zomato,ad featuring superstar Hritik Roshan allegedly showed the actor in Ujjain, MP asking for food delivery from the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple pic.twitter.com/cJEQmmZIdK

— Vaishali (@sadhnasandesh) August 21, 2022

Zomato has used the temple to promote its service blatantly. "The Zomato company should have thought before doing something like this.

So wake up Hindus & #Boycott_Zomato#Zomato_Insults_Mahakal pic.twitter.com/RPpedmI5Ep

— Vinaya Bhat (@VinayaBhat15) August 21, 2022

On the work front, Hrithik Roshan has films like 'Vikram Vedha' and 'Fighter' under his belt. The actor was recently massively trolled massively on Twitter after he gave a shoutout to Aamir Khan's Laal Singh Chaddha and appealed against the 'boycott culture'. 

In his shoutout to Laal Singh Chaddha, Hrithik Roshan wrote: "Just watched Laal Singh Chaddha. I felt the HEART of this movie. Pluses and minuses aside, this movie is just magnificent. Don't miss this gem guys ! Go ! Go now . Watch it. It's beautiful. Just beautiful." However, he too became a target of the trolls and they demanded to boycott Hrithik's upcoming film 'Vikram Vedha'.